WATCH: George Pickens viciously levels defender in preseason debut

Former Georgia star George Pickens has wasted little time in making an instant impact in the National Football League. Thus far, he’s shown that he’s bigger, faster, and stronger than defenders that go up against him. In Saturday’s preseason matchup vs. the Seattle Seahawks, Pickens absolutely leveled a defender on a running play.

George Pickens aka Hines Ward?

Video @PickensBurgh pic.twitter.com/mYOCz15RQA

— SteelerNation (@SteeIerNation) August 14, 2022

That’s something Pickens did rather routinely on the college level. So, it’s nothing new for him. Still, it’s impressive to see the former Georgia star throw around grown men like rag dolls in the National Football League. He’s established himself as a force to be reckoned with early in his rookie campaign with the Steelers.

The former Georgia star has been dominant in training camp

The Pittsburgh Steelers just kicked off their 2022 training camp a few weeks ago, and with a new season comes the new opportunity for rookies to shine and show what they’re made of. One rookie who has immediately turned heads in the first few days of camp has been former Georgia star George Pickens, who reeled in a couple of highlight reel grabs. His impressive play has caught the attention of his Steelers’ teammate, former Notre Dame wideout Chase Claypool, who gave Pickens high words of praise.

“I think he’s gonna be the best rookie receiver in the NFL,” Claypool said.

George Pickens makes incredible diving catch

The former Georgia star and national champion had already established himself as a player willing to go to the ground for a play — having caught a 52-yard pass while diving to the ground in the first quarter of the College Football Playoff Championship Game.

Now, the Steelers hope his ability to make difficult plays translate to their roster like he’s shown in camp so far. While working on catching balls with a defender hitting his arms, Pickens dropped a pass off his hands that he tipped into the air while falling down. Instead of giving up on the play and moving onto another attempt, Pickens rallied off of his knee and caught the ball inches from the ground while laying out for the ball.

The effort didn’t go unnoticed by fans in attendance for the practice, as the crowd immediately erupted in surprised cheers for the stellar catch.

Background and more information on his playing career

Pittsburgh selected Pickens with the 52nd overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft in the second round, and he’ll have a great chance to see action during his rookie season with the team. Pickens finished his career with Georgia with just 1,347 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns over three seasons, but his production came in very limited opportunities on the field due to injury.

His freshman season was explosive in the SEC, catching 49 passes for 727 yards and eight touchdowns — a level of play that kept him high on NFL draft boards, despite missing most of the 2021 season while recovering from a torn ACL.

A former five-star recruit in the class of 2019, Pickens was ranked as the No. 4 wide receiver in the nation per the On3 Consensus Rankings, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. The former Georgia star played his high school football at Hoover in Hoover, Alabama. Pickens was also the second-ranked recruit coming out of Alabama in his class.

On3’s Austin Brezina and Stephen Samra also contributed to this article.